5 Questions for Brandon Boudet

By Betty Hallock

Sept. 10, 2012 12 AM PT

Brandon Boudet is the executive chef and co-owner of Dominick’s, Little Dom’s, 101 Coffee Shop and the newly reopened Tom Bergin’s Tavern. The New Orleans native has worked at Paul Prudhomme’s K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, Emeril Lagasse’s NOLA, Mortoni’s in Las Vegas, and L.A.’s Bar Marmont, Swingers, El Carmen and Jones. Boudet partnered with Warner Ebbink to open Hollywood’s 101 Coffee Shop in 2001, followed by the historic Dominick’s in West Hollywood and Little Dom’s in Los Feliz. The duo renovated Tom Bergin’s Tavern, founded in 1936, and reopened it in May with a menu that reflects its steakhouse history and Irish roots.

What’s coming up next on your menu? I’m working on a few fall menu changes for Tom Bergin’s, trying to incorporate boxty (Irish potato cake) into the fall menu with a California twist.

Latest ingredient obsession? Incorporating steel-cut oats into savory dishes, especially salads for the fall and winter. Also, in Irish cooking they actually use a good bit of seaweed, and I noticed the local red ogo seaweed works really well in salads.

What restaurant do you find yourself going to again and again? It’s not really considered a restaurant, but I’ve been living off of the Tonic Bar at Erehwon for the past four months. It’s close to my new restaurant, and it’s a great quick fix for breakfast or lunch. The herbal tonic ice cream and smoothies are crazy good.

The one piece of kitchen equipment you can’t live without, other than your knives? The old charcoal broiler at Tom Bergin’s and the wood-burning grills at Dominick’s and Little Dom’s.

The last cookbook you read -- and what inspired you to pick it up? “The Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine.” It is a big, beautiful cookbook, and I’m from New Orleans.

Tom Bergin’s Tavern, 840 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 936-7151, www.tombergins.com.

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Betty Hallock

Betty Hallock is deputy Food editor at the Los Angeles Times. She has co-written four cookbooks, including “Bäco: Vivid Recipes from the Heart of Los Angeles,” “Amá: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen” and “Baking at République.” She started her journalism career at the Wall Street Journal and Scientific American in New York, worked on the L.A. Times’ Business desk, and was interim food editor at Los Angeles Magazine. Hallock also helped launch a food and nutrition vertical for wellness app RoundGlass. She’s a graduate of UCLA and New York University.

5 Questions for Brandon Boudet

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